Contents

The World Endurance Championship follows much of the format of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and features nine endurance races across the world, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with all races being at least six hours in duration.[2] The calendar includes four races in Europe, two in the Americas, two in Asia and one in the Middle East,[4] with a possible future expansion.[5] There are four categories: LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes and the GTE category, divided into GTE Pro for teams with professional driver line-ups, and GTE Am for teams featuring a mixture of amateur drivers.

Six titles are awarded each season based on total point tally, with two being deemed world championships: Manufacturers' World Endurance Champion and Drivers' World Champion. The GTE Pro class champion are awarded a World Cup, while the leaders in LMP2 and GTE Am are awarded a Trophy. The final Trophy is awarded to the best privateer team amongst all four classes.[3] The points system is similar to that used in the FIA's other world championships, awarding points to the top ten finishers on a sliding point margin scale from first to tenth. Cars finishing the race but classified eleventh or further are awarded a half point. Double points are awarded for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[3]

1.
World Sportscar Championship
–
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The official name of the series changed throughout the years, however it has generally been known as the World Sportscar Championship from its inception in 1953. The World Sportscar Championship was, with the Formula One World Championship, in 2012 the World Sportscar Championship was revived and renamed as the World Endurance Championship. Cars were split into Sports Car and GT categories and were divided into engine displacement classes. The Ferrari and Maserati works teams were fierce competitors throughout much of the decade, notably absent from the overall results were the Jaguar works team, who did not enter any events other than Le Mans, despite the potential of the C- and D-Types. In 1962, the calendar was expanded to include smaller races, the World Sportscar Championship title was discontinued, being replaced by the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. They group cars into three categories with specific sizes, less than one litre, less than two litres, and over two litres. Hillclimbs, sprint races and smaller races expanded the championship, which now had about 15 races per season, for 1963 the three engine capacity classes remained but a prototype category was added. For 1965 the engine classes became for cars under 1300 cc, under 2000 cc, in 1972 the Group 6 Prototype and Group 5 Sports Car classes were both replaced by a new Group 5 Sports Car class. These cars were limited to 3.0 L engines by the FIA, the new Group 5 Sports Cars, together with Group 4 Grand Touring Cars, would contest the FIAs newly renamed World Championship for Makes from 1972 to 1975. Prototypes returned in 1976 as Group 6 cars with their own series, the World Championship for Sports Cars, in 1981, the FIA instituted a drivers championship. While this change was unwelcome amongst some of the private teams, several of the old guard manufacturers returned to the WSC within the next two years, with each marque adding to the diversity of the series. Under the new rules, it was possible for normally aspirated engines to compete with the forced induction engines that had dominated the series in the 70s. In addition, most races ran for either 500 or 1000 km, Group B cars, which was a GT class, were also allowed to race, but entries in this class were sparse, and Group B cars disappeared from the series, with sports-prototypes dominating the championship. Porsche was the first constructor to join the series, with the 956, as costs increased, a C2 class was created for privateer teams and small manufacturers, with greater limits to fuel consumption. In this lower class, most cars used either the BMW M1 engine or the new Cosworth DFL, but, like in the main class, alba, Tiga, Spice and Ecurie Ecosse were among the most competitive in this class. While the Group C formula had brought back to the sport. For 1986, the World Endurance Championship became the World Sports-Prototype Championship, the new classification, known as Group C Category 1, was designed to mandate Formula One engines

2.
World Enduro Championship
–
The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes, along with separate categories for junior and female riders, the WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists of 16 races based on eight two-day events. All rounds include an enduro test, a motocross test and an extreme test, the World Enduro Championship began in 1990, replacing the FIM European Enduro Championship, which had been contested since 1968. The European championship was restarted by the Union Européenne de Motocyclisme in 1993. The WEC had six classes from 1990 to 1993, after which the 80 cc and 500 cc 2-stroke championships were discontinued. The series continued with four classes,125,250,350 and 500 cc, until the 1998 season, which saw 250 cc 4-stroke as a new class, in 1998, all rounds also counted towards an overall championship, which was continued until 2004. The competition classes of the WEC were revised for the 2004 season, the number of classes was reduced to three, and 2-stroke and 4-stroke machines were now competing in the same classes. The new classes were named Enduro 1, Enduro 2 and Enduro 3, the 2005 season saw a new addition, the Enduro Junior class. The age limit in the class was originally 21 years. A class for riders, Enduro Women, was started in 2010. The points system of the WEC originally awarded points for 15 best riders in each class, since the 2004 season, the twenty fastest riders have received points, with 25 going to the winner of each class,22 for the second fastest and 20 for the third-placed rider. The 2007 championship included six events in Europe, one in the United States, in the 2008 season, all eights rounds were held in Europe. The current main broadcaster of the championship is Eurosport 2, in South America and Oceania, the series is broadcast on ESPN and Fox Sports, respectively

3.
Le Mans Prototype
–
Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de lOuest. The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car, while not as fast as open-wheel Formula One cars, LMPs are the fastest closed-wheel racing cars used in circuit racing. Le Mans Prototypes are considered a class above production-based grand tourer cars, modern LMP designs include hybrid cars that use electric motors to assist acceleration. Le Mans Prototypes have used various names depending on the series in which they compete, the FIAs equivalent cars were referred to as Sports Racers or Sports Racing Prototypes. The American IMSA GT Championship termed their cars World Sports Cars, since 2004, most series have switched to referring to these cars as Le Mans Prototypes. The American Le Mans Series, the successor to the IMSA GT Championship, an LMP is commonly referred to as a Le Mans car in the media. The first use of what would become Le Mans Prototypes was at the 199224 Hours of Le Mans. In an attempt to increase the number of entrants beyond the field of Group C competitors that the World Sportscar Championship had to offer, older Porsche 962s were allowed entry in Category 3. To further increase the size of the field, small open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines which were raced in national championships, were allowed in Category 4. Only three cars were entered, with all failing to run more than a few hours. With Group C being phased out, the ACO chose to allow production-based race cars to enter for the first time in many years, the cars continued to use the same formula as they had in 1992. Later, ACO announced their intentions to replace the Group C cars with Le Mans Prototypes in 1994. Both classes were required to have open cockpits and this formula continued up to 1996, with many manufacturers embracing the LMP and WSC classes, including Ferrari, Porsche, and Mazda. In 1997, the first European series based around Le Mans Prototypes was launched, to differ from IMSAS WSC class, the USRRC named their open-cockpit prototypes Can-Am in an attempt to resurrect the sportscar championship of the 1970s. However the USRRC collapsed before the end of 1999, with the series becoming the Rolex Sports Car Series who chose to use the FIAs SR1,1998 saw a great expansion for the ACOs LMP classes. Following the cancellation of the IMSA GT Championship at the end of 1998 and this series used the same class structure as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning it was the first championship to use the LMP name. At the same time, the ACO greatly altered their LMP classes, the smaller LMP2 class were briefly eliminated, while a new class of closed-cockpit prototypes were allowed in, known as LMGTP. These cars were evolutions of production-based road cars that the ACO considered too advanced and too fast to fall under the GT class regulations, in 2000, changes were made to the LMP regulations, as the ACO once again split the open-cockpit LMP class

4.
Grand tourer
–
A grand tourer is a performance and luxury automobile capable of high speed and long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement, the grand touring concept is eurocentric, the definition implies material differences in performance at speed, comfort, and amenities between elite automobiles and those of ordinary motorists. In post-war United States, the Interstate Highway System and wide availability of powerful Straight-six, European GTs did find success penetrating the American personal luxury car market, notably the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. Grand touring car design evolved from vintage and pre-World War II fast touring cars, italy developed the first gran turismo cars. The small, light-weight and aerodynamic coupé, named the Berlinetta, independent carrozzeria provided light and flexible fabric coachwork for powerful short-wheelbase fast-touring chassis by manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo. Later, Carrozzeria Touring of Milan would pioneer sophisticated Superleggera aluminium bodywork, the additional comfort of an enclosed cabin was beneficial for the Mille Miglia road-race held in Italys often wintry north. An improved and supercharged version, the 6C1750 GTC Gran Turismo Compressore, from the basic Fiat 508 Balilla touring chassis came the SIATA and Fiat aerodynamic gran turismo-style Berlinetta Mille Miglias of 1933 and 1935. The first recognised motor race for gran turismo cars was the 1949 Coppa Inter-Europa held at Monza, however, the Fiat based 1100 cc four-cylinder Cisitaila was no match on the race track for Ferraris new hand-built 2000 cc V12, and Ferrari dominated, taking the first three places. An 1100 cc class was created, but not in time to save Cisitalias business fortunes—the companys bankrupt owner Piero Dusio had already decamped to Argentina. The Maserati A61500 won the 1500 cc class at the 1949 Coppa-Europa and it was driven by Franco Bordoni, former fighter ace of the Regia Aeronautica who had debuted as a pilota da corsa at the 1949 Mille Miglia. The body of the A61500 was an elegant two-door fast-back coupe body, the first car constructed in Ferraris name, the V12125 S, also a racing sports car, debuted in 1947 at the Piacenza racing circuit. The Ferrari 166 Inter S coupé model won the 1949 Coppa Inter-Europa, regulations stipulated body form and dimensions but did not at this time specify a minimum production quantity. The car was driven by Bruno Sterzi, and is recognized as the first Ferrari gran turismo, Ferraris response for the new Gran Tursimo championship was the road/race Ferrari 212. All versions came with the standard Ferrari five-speed non-synchromesh gearbox and hydraulic drum brakes, all 1951 Ferraris shared a double tube frame chassis design evolved from the 166. Double-wishbone front suspension with leaf spring, and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs. Even more impressive than the new Ferrari in 1951 was the debut of Lancias Aurelia B20 GT. Lancia had begun production in 1950 of their technically advanced Aurelia sedan, at the 1951 Turin Motor Show, the Pinin Farina-bodied Gran Tursimo B20 Coupé version was unveiled to an enthusiastic motoring public. In the B20 are elements of the Cistalia of 1947, coupés which Pinin undertook on a 6C Alfa Romeo and Maserati in 1948, in addition the B20 had a shorter wheelbase and a higher rear axle ratio, making it a 100 mph car

5.
Michelin
–
Michelin is a French tire manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the four largest tire manufacturers in the world along with Goodyear, Continental, in addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Tigar, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tire brands. Michelins numerous inventions include the removable tire, the pneurail and the radial tire, Michelin manufactures tires for space shuttles, aircraft, automobiles, heavy equipment, motorcycles, and bicycles. In 2012, the Group produced 166 million tires at 69 facilities located in 18 countries, in 1889 two brothers, Édouard Michelin and André Michelin, ran a rubber factory in Clermont-Ferrand, France. One day, a cyclist whose pneumatic tire needed repair turned up at the factory, the tire was glued to the rim, and it took over three hours to remove and repair the tire, which then needed to be left overnight to dry. The next day, Édouard Michelin took the repaired bicycle into the yard to test. After only a few hundred metres, the tire failed, despite the setback, Édouard was enthusiastic about the pneumatic tire, and he and his brother worked on creating their own version, one that did not need to be glued to the rim. Michelin was incorporated on 28 May 1889, in 1891 Michelin took out its first patent for a removable pneumatic tire which was used by Charles Terront to win the worlds first long distance cycle race, the 1891 Paris–Brest–Paris. In the 1920s and 1930s, Michelin operated large rubber plantations in Vietnam, conditions at these plantations led to the famous labour movement Phu Rieng Do. In 1934, Michelin introduced a tire which, if punctured, would run on a special foam lining, the radial was initially marketed as the X tire. It was developed with the front-wheel-drive Citroën Traction Avant and Citroën 2CV in mind, Michelin had bought the then-bankrupt Citroën in the 1930s. Because of its superiority in handling and fuel economy, use of this quickly spread throughout Europe. In the U. S. the outdated bias-ply tire persisted, also in 1968, Consumer Reports, an influential American magazine, acknowledged the superiority of the radial construction, setting off a rapid decline in Michelins competitor technology. In the U. S. the radial tire now has a share of 100%. In 1989, Michelin acquired the recently merged tire and rubber manufacturing divisions of the American firms B. F. Goodrich Company and Uniroyal, Uniroyal Australia had already been bought by Bridgestone in 1980. This purchase included the Norwood, North Carolina manufacturing plant which supplied tires to the U. S, Michelin also controls 90% of Taurus Tire in Hungary, as well as Kormoran, a Polish brand. As of 1 September 2008, Michelin is again the worlds largest tire manufacturer after spending two years as number two behind Bridgestone. Michelin produces tires in France, Spain, Germany, the USA, on 15 January 2010, Michelin announced the closing of its Ota, Japan plant, which employs 380 workers and makes the Michelin X-Ice tire

6.
Dunlop Tyres
–
Dunlop is a brand of tyres owned by various companies around the world. It is owned and operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in North America, Europe, Australia, in India the brand is owned by Dunlop India Ltd. whose parent company is the Ruia Group. In Asia, Africa and Latin America by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, in 1985, Dunlop Rubber Company was acquired by BTR plc, and Sumitomo acquired the rights to manufacture and market Dunlop branded road tyres. Sumitomo did not acquire any Dunlop company, in 1997 Sumitomo gained agreement to use the Dunlop name in its corporate name, and changed the name of its UK subsidiary to Dunlop Tyres Ltd. The company has manufacturing operations throughout the world. With the closure of the Washington plant in 2006, Goodyear Dunlop ceased mainstream car, until May 2014 Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part of the site with their British main office. In the UK, the company operates as an organisation, importing tyres from manufacturing plants around the world, including China, Slovenia. The Goodyear Dunlop joint venture is managed from sites in Luxembourg and Brussels, fort Dunlop was a motorsport manufacturing operation located in a corner of the original Dunlop factory in Erdington, Birmingham, established in 1891 until May 2014. This factory produced specialised vintage, motorcycle and touring car tyres, on 30 May 2014, the Birmingham factory ceased tyre production, ending Dunlop tyre production in the UK. The main Birmingham building has been redeveloped extensively as a residential, office and hotel complex, with a modern shopping facility, car dealerships. It can be observed between junction 5 and 6 of the M6, on the side of the motorway. Dunlop Tyres is the tyre supplier to the British Touring Car Championship, V8 Supercars Championship. It was also the sole supplier for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters from 2000-2010. Dunlop also supplies tyres to the Japanese Super GTs Nakajima Racing, classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Dunlop GP Racer D209 tyre has been chosen repeatedly as a control tyre for the R&G Racing GSX-R Trophy motorcycle race. It has also chosen for the Henderson Harley-Davidson XR1200 Trophy. The History of the Pneumatic Tyre

7.
Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed

8.
Timo Bernhard
–
Timo Bernhard is a professional sports car racer from Germany. He was former Team Penske driver and currently a Porsche factory driver and he has also raced for the CytoSport in the 2010 American Le Mans Series season and is a winner of the Triple Crown in endurance racing. Bernhard was born in Homburg, Saarland and he debuted in karting in 1991. He finished 5th at the CIK/FIA Junior World Championship y was crowned German junior champion, the next two years, Bernhard was 6th and 3rd at the German Karting Championship. In 1998 he moved to cars as he join the Formula Ford. In his last year in open-wheelers,1999, Bernhard finished 3rd at the German Formula Ford, for 2000, Bernhard drove in Porsche Supercup as a UPS Porsche Junior driver, finishing 3rd in the championship. In 2001, he made his American Le Mans Series debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring and he also made four other ALMS starts, and won the Porsche Carrera Cup championship. In 2002 he began the season with a win in the 24 Hours of Daytona for The Racers Group. He then finished second overall at the 24 Hours Nürburgring driving for Alzen Motorsport, the crowning achievement of the year was winning the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Kevin Buckler and Lucas Luhr. He also finished 3rd in the Carrera Cup, and won his first ALMS race, Bernhard began the season by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona outright in a Porsche 911 GT3-RS, driving with Buckler, Michael Schrom, and Bergmeister. Bernhard and Bergmeister won 3 ALMS races, including Petit Le Mans and he also finished 3rd at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. In 2004, Bernhard again partnered with Jörg Bergmeister in the ALMS, the duo took six wins from nine starts and won the GT class drivers championship. Their successes included class wins at Sebring and Petit Le Mans, Bernhard also finished 4th overall and 2nd in class in the Spa 24 Hours. He finished on the podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the 3rd straight year, Bernhard joined Romain Dumas in the ALMS for 2005. They scored four wins, and Bernhard won four poles. Dumas also finished 2nd in the GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving with Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long. In 2006, Bernhard moved to DHL Penske Racing who owned and captained by legendary owner Roger Penske, after a frustrating start to the season, Bernhard and Dumas took advantage of the Audi R10s absence from the series to take the overall win at Mid-Ohio. This was the first overall win for an LMP2 class car, Bernhard also won the LMP2 class at Petit Le Mans, and took four class victories in total and finished 3rd in the championship

9.
New Zealand
–
New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu

10.
Earl Bamber
–
He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup and double Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion, and won the 201524 Hours of Le Mans with Nico Hülkenberg and Nick Tandy. Earl Bamber was born in Whanganui, New Zealand, to Paul and Maureen Bamber and he attended Wanganui Collegiate School along with his younger brother, William. Bamber began in kart racing and won his first title aged 12, at the North Island Sprint Championships, and his first national title at the 2004 Sprint Kart Championship meeting in Auckland. Later that year, he secured a podium at the Rotax Max categorys annual Grand Final in Portugal after dominating the Junior class in the 2004 Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand. Bamber progressed through karts and single seater series and was ranked sixth highest future star in the world by the internationally recognised website driverdb. com in 2008. At 15 he switched to the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship before competing in Asia two years later where he won the Asian Formula BMW title and he achieved pole positions, fastest laps and podium results in Formula Renault V6 and Australian Formula 3, despite a tight budget. In 2008 he won two vice-championship trophies – in Formula Renault V6 Asia and Toyota Racing Series New Zealand, Bamber contested several rounds of the international A1 Grand Prix series for the New Zealand team in 2009, finishing on the podium three times. He also stood on the podium in GP2 Asia, at the age of 19, in 2010 he repeated his 2008 success and was again crowned runner-up in the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series. In 2013, Bamber made his first appearance in Porsches one make series in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia with Malaysian team and he battled all season with Martin Ragginger but eventually won the drivers championship. He was subsequently selected to race in three Porsche Supercup meetings, Bambers inaugural sportscar racing season ended with victory in the Carrera Cup Asia race at the 60th Macau Grand Prix meeting, defeating nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb in the process. Part of the process included the simulation of a qualifying session as well as an entire race. He received funding of 200,000 Euros for his 2014 Porsche Supercup season campaign the following season, Bamber raced with FACH Auto Tech in the Porsche Supercup alongside Porsche Carrera Cups of Germany and Asia with Team 75 Bernhard and LKM Racing, respectively. After seven of the ten races, the FACH Auto Tech driver had won the rookie classification. With the support of Team 75 Bernhard, Bamber competed in ten out of eighteen rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany with two wins, five podiums and three fastest laps. He left the series holding second position in the Drivers Championship and was seventh overall at the end of the season. Bamber also replaced the injured Richard Lietz in the Porsche 911 RSR at the Petit Le Mans in the United SportsCar Championship, joining Porsche works drivers Patrick Long and their second place ensured team Porsche North America, run by Core Autosport, won the manufacturers title in the championship. Prior to the 2015 season, Bamber signed with Porsche Motorsport as a works driver, in January 2015, he and fellow works drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Frédéric Makowiecki took the No.912 Porsche 911 RSR to seventh place at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Bamber and Nick Tandy joined Formula One driver Nico Hülkenberg in the Porsche LMP squad to contest the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps,19, was third on the grid after Porsche finished first, second and third in qualifying, but ended up winning comfortably

11.
Brendon Hartley
–
Brendon Hartley is a New Zealand professional racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in LMP1-H. On November 21,2015, he was crowned alongside his teammates Mark Webber. Hartley was born in Palmerston North in a well integrated within motorsport. His father, Bryan, had raced in many forms of motorsport, at the age of six, Hartley began his motor racing career in kart racing, following his brother, Nelsons footsteps. Six years later, the young New Zealander competed in his first full–scale race championship, up against many seasoned veterans, Hartley finished the season in seventh. In a car his brother used the year, he started four races. After a season in Formula Toyota New Zealand, Hartley moved to Europe, competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. The New Zealander finished 14th and 10th in the Drivers Championship in the Eurocup and North European Cup respectively and his second year in Formula Renault saw him stay in the Eurocup, but move from the NEC to the Italian championship. That year saw him take three wins in the Eurocup and three podiums in the Italian championship, and took title in the Eurocup. In 2007 Hartley also made his Formula Three debut in the Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder event and this resulted in a test with A1 Team New Zealand and the role of the rookie driver for the series. In 2008, Hartley competed in the British Formula 3 Championship for Carlin Motorsport winning five times and he would have placed higher up, due to a greater amount of retirements compared to that of his teammates Jaime Alguersuari and Oliver Turvey. They had two each, while Hartley had six and he also competed in eight races in the Formula Three Euroseries for Carlin and RC Motorsport, and achieved two finishes in the points, although he was ineligible for points. In non-championship races, Hartley finished fifth at the Masters of Formula 3, and he started 20th on the grid and recorded the fastest race lap. He stayed with Carlin for the full F3 Euroseries in 2009, in that series, Hartley competed for the defending champion Tech 1 Racing team, and ended fifteenth in the championship. He has been confirmed at Tech 1 for a season of Formula Renault 3.5 in 2010. During the series summer break it was announced that Hartley had been dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team and his seat was taken by British Formula 3 championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne. Despite the loss of his Red Bull backing, Hartley made his GP2 Series début at Monza in September and he scored a point in the season finale at Yas Marina to place 27th in the championship. For 2011, Hartley returned to Formula Renault 3.5 and he finished in fifth place in his first race with the team, and 19th in the overall championship

12.
Porsche in motorsport
–
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races. The Porsche 917 of 1969 turned them into a house, winning in 1970 the first of over a dozen 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the 911 Carrera RS and the Porsche 935 Turbo, Porsche dominated the 1970s, and even has beaten sports prototypes, Porsche is currently the worlds largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for international motor sports events. Some aspect of the car almost invariably, was being developed, notable early successes in the USA also included an overall win in the 1964 Road America 500 for an under-2-litre RS-60 driven by Bill Wuesthoff and Augie Pabst. The 90x series of cars in the 60s saw Porsche start to expand from class winners that stood a chance of overall wins in tougher races where endurance and handling mattered, to likely overall victors. Porsche first expanded its 8-cyl flat engine to 2.2 litres in the 907, then developed the 908 with full three litres in 1968. Based on this 8-cyl flat engine and a loophole in the rules, the 4. 5-litre flat 12917 was introduced in 1969, eventually expanded to five litres, and later even to 5.4 and turbocharged. Within few years, Porsche with the 917 had grown from underdog to the supplier of the fastest and most powerful car in the world. Even though introduced in 1963, and winning the Rally Monte Carlo, the water-cooled Porsche 996 series became a success in racing after the GT3 variant was introduced in 1999. The Porsche 917 is considered one of the most iconic racing cars of all time and gave Porsche their first 24 Hours of Le Mans win, Porsche scored a couple of unexpected Le Mans wins in 1996 and 1997. A return to racing in the USA was planned for 1995 with a Tom Walkinshaw Racing chassis formerly used as the Jaguar XJR-14. This is a feat Porsche had also achieved in the 956 era, between 1998 and 2014, Porsche did not attempt to score overall wins at Le Mans and similar sports car races, focusing on smaller classes and developing the water-cooled 996 GT3. Nevertheless, the GT3 and the LMP2 RS Spyder won major races overall during the period, in 2015, a Porsche 919 Hybrid hybrid car driven by Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Nico Hülkenberg won the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Porsche LMP1 program went on to win the victory in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. The 919 program has gone on to win the 84th running of Le Mans in a 919 driven by Neel Jani, Romain Dumas. In the 1960s, Porsche grew into a competitor in sports car racing. In CanAm, Porsche cooperated with Penske, while in Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft, customers like Kremer Racing, Georg Loos, after appearing as Martini Porsche in the mid-1970s, the factory entered as Rothmans Porsche in the mid-1980s

13.
Rebellion Racing
–
Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season, the team started as an association between Speedy Racing and Sebah Racing, which began in 2008. Rebellion Racings team principal is Alexandre Pesci and the manager is Bart Hayden. In 2011, Rebellion Racing and Toyota Motorsport GmbH confirmed their plans for a Le Mans Prototype LMP1 engine supply partnership, two Rebellion Racing Lola LMP1 cars powered by Toyota engines in LMP1. At the end of October 2010, Rebellion Racing and Toyota Motorsport engineers conducted an evaluation test programme at Portimao, Portugal and Monteblanco, the team have renewed the contracts of its regular 2010 drivers. Neel Jani / Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi /Jean-Christophe Boullion will again spearhead the Rebellion Racing attack, at the 201124 Hours of Le Mans, the no.12 car of Nicolas Prost/Neel Jani/Jeroen Bleekemolen qualified 8th and finished 6th overall. It was the first gasoline finisher, the no.13 car of Andrea Belicchi/Jean-Christophe Boullion and Guy Smith retired after 190 laps. Rebellion won the LMP1 teams title with 51 points,1 point more than Pescarolo Team, in the season finale in Zhuhai, the top gasoline-powered LMP1 car was the Rebellion teams Toyota-engined Lola coupe driven by Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost. On 1 February 2012, it was announced that German driver Nick Heidfeld would drive a Rebellion Lola-Toyota in select rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Heidfeld will share the wheel of the Anglo-Swiss squads No.12 LMP1 entry with Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Six Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Le Mans. He completes Rebellions lineup, with Jeroen Bleekemolen having been announced on 31 January as the driver in the No.13 Lola-Toyota with Andrea Belicchi. Rebellion Racing entered the 2012 Petit Le Mans to attempt to score a victory at the race since Audi chose to not enter the race. After early battling with Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, the latter crashed when attempting to pass a GT car, allowing Rebellion to lead the rest of the race, Rebellion Racing participated in both the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship season and 2013 American Le Mans Series season. But in July, mid-way through the season, the decided to end its ALMS programme. After that, it contested the Petit Le Mans series finale at Road Atlanta in October. Rebellion Racing took their second overall victory at Petit Le Mans. On 8 June 2013, Rebellion confirmed they have entered a partnership with Oreca to design and build their own LMP1 car, the car debuted at the 2014 Spa 6 Hours in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship and continues to use Toyota engines. On 3 February 2015, Rebellion Racing announced a new partnership for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season

14.
Ferrari
–
Ferrari N. V. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 as Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company built its first car in 1940, however the companys inception as an auto manufacturer is usually recognized in 1947, when the first Ferrari-badged car was completed. Ferrari is the worlds most powerful according to Brand Finance. In May 2012 the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO became the most expensive car in history, Fiat S. p. A. acquired 50 percent of Ferrari in 1969 and expanded its stake to 90 percent in 1988. In October 2014 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced its intentions to separate Ferrari S. p. A. from FCA, through the remaining steps of the separation, FCAs interest in Ferraris business was distributed to shareholders of FCA, with 10 percent continuing to be owned by Piero Ferrari. The spin-off was completed on 3 January 2016, Ferrari road cars are generally seen as a symbol of speed, luxury and wealth. Enzo Ferrari was not initially interested in the idea of producing road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929, Scuderia Ferrari literally means Ferrari Stable and is usually used to mean Team Ferrari. Ferrari bought, prepared and fielded Alfa Romeo racing cars for gentlemen drivers, in September 1939 Enzo Ferrari left Alfa Romeo under the provision that he would not use the Ferrari name in association with races or racing cars for at least four years. A few days later he founded Auto Avio Costruzioni, headquartered in the facilities of the old Scuderia Ferrari, the new company ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. In 1940 Ferrari did in fact produce a race car – the Tipo 815 and it was the first Ferrari car and debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia, but due to World War II it saw little competition. In 1943 the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since, the factory was bombed by the Allies and subsequently rebuilt including a works for road car production. The first Ferrari-badged car was the 1947125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine, Enzo Ferrari reluctantly built, the Scuderia Ferrari name was resurrected to denote the factory racing cars and distinguish them from those fielded by customer teams. In 1960 the company was restructured as a corporation under the name SEFAC S. p. A. Early in 1969, Fiat took a 50 percent stake in Ferrari, new model investment further up in the Ferrari range also received a boost. In 1988, Enzo Ferrari oversaw the launch of the Ferrari F40, the last new Ferrari to be launched before his death later that year, in 1989 the company was renamed as Ferrari S. p. A. From 2002 to 2004, Ferrari produced the Enzo, their fastest model at the time and it was to be called the F60, continuing on from the F40 and F50, but Ferrari was so pleased with it, they called it the Enzo instead. It was initially offered to loyal and reoccurring customers, each of the 399 made had a tag of $650,000 apiece. On 15 September 2012,964 Ferrari cars (worth over $162 million attended the Ferrari Driving Days event at Silverstone Circuit, on 29 October 2014, the FCA group, resulting from the merger between manufacturers Fiat and Chrysler, announced the split of its luxury brand, Ferrari

15.
AF Corse
–
AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. The team has also entered cars under Advanced Engineering, AT Racing, Pecom Racing, Spirit of Race and 8Star Motorsports, in 1995, Amato Ferrari retired from driving and chose to concentrate on team management, initially entering the Italian Superturismo Championship. Following the series demise in 1999, Ferrari launched a new team known as AF Corse, the team turned to sports car racing, and within a year was contracted by Maserati. AF Corse was tasked with the development, maintenance, and transport of the Trofeo Cup, the company would continue in this position until 2005. During 2004, Maserati approached AF Corse about running their latest development in sports car racing, the team aided Maserati in testing and developing the car before running the two new racers in their home event at Imola. Drivers Fabrizio de Simone, Andrea Bertolini, Mika Salo, and Johnny Herbert were all be assigned to the team, eventually earning AF Corse two victories before the season ended. Once the development of the MC12 was satisfied, the returned to running the Trofeo Cup. AF Corse returned to the FIA GT Championship in 2006 and this time however they would be running the latest Ferrari offering, the Ferrari F430, as well as competing in the series lower category, the GT2 class. Salo was retained in the driving line-up, while newcomers Rui Águas, Jaime Melo, victory was earned in the teams debut at Silverstone, and another two were earned over the season, including at the Spa 24 Hours. AF Corse won the championship, beating fellow Ferrari competitor Scuderia Ecosse. The company retained their connection to Maserati however, entering a trio of cars in the new FIA GT3 European Championship, as defending champions, AF Corse remained in the FIA GT Championship in 2007, although much on the team changed. While the Ferrari F430s remained, all new drivers were introduced to the team, dirk Müller, Toni Vilander, Gianmaria Bruni, and Stephane Ortelli took over driving duties for the season, while Motorola announced their full sponsorship of the squad. The two cars dominated the 2007 season, winning nine of the ten events on the schedule, for 2008, AF Corse expanded to a three car team in the GT2 class. Vilander and Bruni are retained in the car, while Biagi returns to the squad to be joined by Christian Montanari in the second entry. The third car will be run under the Advanced Engineering name, with Argentinian Matías Russo, in 2010, the FIA GT Championship was dissolved and two new championships were born from it. The GT1 class of the series became the FIA GT1 World Championship while the GT2 class formed the FIA GT2 European Championship. The GT2 series was suspended due to lack of entries, as a result, the AF Corse team joined the Le Mans Series. For the 2010 season, the team fielded three Ferrari F430 GT2s for the series GT2 class, drivers Matías Russo and Luís Pérez Companc campaigned the #94 Ferrari with Toni Vilander and former Grand Prix drivers Jean Alesi and Giancarlo Fisichella in the #95

16.
Aston Martin Racing
–
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9. Since the DBR9s racing debut in 2005, Aston Martin Racing has expanded to build a variety of available to customers. Aston Martin Racings program has earned several successes over the years, Aston Martin had previously raced in the 1959 and 1960 Formula One seasons but failed to score points in either year. Aston Martin Racing builds cars for international grand tourer classes, the team itself run a squad of DBR9s in the former top class, GT1, while other cars were offered to customers. The GTE class became their next target after the failure of the 2011 season, the V8 Vantage is also featured in GT3 and GT4 classes. Before GT3 Vantage was introduced the DBRS9 was also racing in GT3. In 2008, Aston Martin Racing began their entry into the Le Mans Prototype category with the aid of Charouz Racing System, installing a DBR9 V12 into a Lola B08/60 LMP1 prototype. On 27 January 2009, the team announced a works entry in the Le Mans Prototype category for the 200924 Hours of Le Mans with the Lola-Aston Martin B09/60. The entry marks the 50th anniversary of its last outright win at Le Mans, the 2009 programme got off to an unfortunate start at the pre season Paul Ricard test on 8 March when Tomáš Enge destroyed the 007 car in an accident. Aston Martin Racing subsequently took delivery of a new Lola to replace the written off chassis, the team entered two LMP1 cars bearing the iconic blue and orange livery of Gulf Oil. The aim was to emulate the achievements of the 1959 race win with the DBR1 driven by Carroll Shelby, the 008 car was running as high as 3rd overall in the morning until Anthony Davidson had a collision with a GT1 Aston. Subsequent repairs and a 5-minute stop and go penalty—for causing the collision—dropped the car out of contention, the 009 car was retired after 252 laps. Three cars were entered in the 201024 Hours of Le Mans, although only the 007 and 009 cars were run by Aston Martin Racing. Both the 008 and 009 cars suffered problems and had to be retired, leaving only the 007 to finish 6th overall and completing 365 laps. In 2011 the B09/60 was succeeded by the Aston Martin AMR-One, initially, the car was running very poorly. In its first racing event, the 20116 Hours of Castellet, so around came Le Mans and despite the testing and extra car, they were still lapping in the middle of the LMP2 pack in qualifying and in the race it was much a much worse scenario. Car #009 retired after two laps around the Circuit de la Sarthe and car #007 reted two laps later on lap four

17.
Porsche
–
F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche AG, is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans. Porsche AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, and is owned by Volkswagen AG, Porsches current lineup includes the 718 Boxster/Cayman,911, Panamera, Macan and Cayenne. Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called Dr. Ing. h. c, F. Porsche GmbH in 1931, with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, that is a Volkswagen. This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time, the Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle. During World War II, Volkswagen production turned to the version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen,52,000 produced. Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the stages of the war. At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British, Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army Major, was put in charge of the factory. On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes, during his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsches son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his fathers release in August 1947, the first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production was begun by Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH founded by Ferry, many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. After the production of 356 was taken over by the fathers Dr. Ing. h. c. In 1952, Porsche constructed a plant across the street from Reutter Karosserie, the main road in front of Werk 1. The 356 was road certified in 1948, Porsches company logo was based on the coat of arms of the Free Peoples State of Württemberg of former Weimar Germany, which had Stuttgart as its capital. The arms of Stuttgart was placed in the middle as an inescutcheon, on 30 January 1951, not long before the creation of Baden-Württemberg, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke. The 356, however, had several stages, A, B, and C, while in production

18.
Auto racing
–
Auto racing is a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Almost as soon as automobiles had been invented, races of various sorts were organised, by the 1930s specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and it was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton. Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fueled automobiles, the first organized contest was on April 28,1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne, on July 22,1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the worlds first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10-franc entrance fee, the first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28,1895. Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile, brooklands, in Surrey, was the first purpose-built motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km concrete track with high-speed banked corners, One of the oldest existing purpose-built automobile racing circuits in the United States, still in use, is the 2. 5-mile -long Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is the largest capacity venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. on February 21,1948, the first NASCAR Strictly Stock race ever was held on June 19,1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a seat to GT cars. From 1972 through 2003, NASCARs premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, the changes that resulted from RJRs involvement, as well as the reduction of the schedule from 48 to 31 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCARs modern era. The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series, the European races eventually became the closely related Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs. The best-known variety of racing, Formula One, which hosts the famous Monaco Grand Prix. In single-seater, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front, in Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing is commonly referred to as Formula, with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the Formula terminology is not followed, the sport is usually arranged to follow an international format, a regional format, and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format. In North America, the used in the National Championship have traditionally been similar though less sophisticated than F1 cars. The series most famous race is the Indianapolis 500, the other major international single-seater racing series is GP2

19.
Endurance racing (motorsport)
–
Endurance racing is a form of motorsport racing which is meant to test the durability of equipment and endurance of participants. Teams of multiple drivers attempt to cover a distance in a single event. Endurance races can be run either to cover a set distance in laps as quickly as possible, one of the more common lengths of endurance races has been running for 1,000 kilometres, or roughly six hours. Longer races can run for 1,000 miles,12 hours, teams can consist of anywhere from two to four drivers per event, which is dependent on the drivers endurance abilities, length of the race, or even the rules for each event. Coppa Florio was an Italian car race started in 1900, and renamed in 1905 when Vincenzo Florio offered the initial 50000 Lira, the Brescia race visited the route Brescia-Cremona-Mantova-Brescia. In 1908, the race used the Circuito di Bologna, Bologna-Castelfranco Emilia-SantAgata Bolognese-San Giovanni in Persiceto-Bologna, since 1914 most of the Coppa Florio was co-organized with the Targa Florio near Palermo, Sicilia, running four or five laps,108 km each. The Mille Miglia was an endurance race which took place in Italy 24 times from 1927 to 1957. The worlds first organized 24-hour automobile race event was held on a 1-mile oval track at Driving Park, Columbus, beginning on the afternoon of July 3, four cars from Frayer-Miller, Pope-Toledo, Peerless and White Steamer raced for a $500 silver trophy. The winning Pope-Toledo car covered 828.5 miles, a protest was filed by the Frayer-Miller and Peerless teams, alleging the Pope-Toledo was not owned by the driver, instead sent from the factory with an engine built for racing. The first 24-hour race to place at a dedicated motorsport venue was at Brooklands. This incurred the wrath of local residents and would lead to the Double Twelve race and this format meant the race took place for 12 hours each between 8am to 8pm and between it, the cars were locked up overnight to prevent maintenance work from being performed on them. The 2001 Dakar Rally saw competitors cover a distance of 10,739 kilometres with a time of 70 hours over 20 days with three classes of cars, motorbikes, and trucks. The 1992 Paris–Cape Town Rally covered a distance of 12,427 km, the 1994 edition saw competitors return to Paris, for a distance of 13,379 km. The Expedition Trophy, first held in 2005, runs from Murmansk to Vladivostok, the 1908 New York to Paris Race covered a distance of over 16,000 km, taking 169 days from February 12 to July 30. The various endurance formats were appealing to manufacturers, not only as alternatives to the expense of Grand Prix racing, in automobile endurance racing, three events have come to form a Triple Crown. They are considered three of the most challenging endurance races over the decades, the Rolex 24 at Daytona,12 Hours of Sebring, hans Herrmann was the first in 1970 to win the three races, and Timo Bernhard the most recent. No driver has won the three events in the year, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert have won the three races at least twice each. Bold on year indicate at which race the driver achieved his Triple Crown, the FIA World Endurance Championship is an international sports car racing series organized by both the Automobile Club de lOuest and the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile

20.
Sports prototype
–
A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are not intended for purchase or production beyond that required to compete. Prototype racing cars have competed in car racing since before World War II. In historic racing, they are called sports racing cars. Sometimes, they are referred to as Le Mans cars. Since the 1960s, various championships have allowed prototypes to compete, however, most championships have had their own set of rules for their prototype classes. Listed here are some of the commonly known types of prototypes. Group 7 Group 6 Group C Grand Touring Prototype Le Mans Prototype Le Mans Prototype Challenge Daytona Prototype Sports 2000

21.
24 Hours of Le Mans
–
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the worlds oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. It is one of the most prestigious races in the world and is often called the Grand Prix of Endurance. The event represents one leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, other events being the Indianapolis 500, since 2012, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2017, it will be the round of the season. The race has over the years inspired imitating races all over the globe, popularizing the 24-hour format at places like Daytona, Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, and Bathurst. The American Le Mans Series and Europes Le Mans Series of multi-event sports car championships were spun off from 24 Hours of Le Mans regulations. At a time when Grand Prix motor racing was the dominant form of motorsport throughout Europe, Le Mans was designed to present a different test. Instead of focusing on the ability of a car company to build the fastest machines and this encouraged innovation in producing reliable and fuel-efficient vehicles, because endurance racing requires cars that last and spend as little time in the pits as possible. At the same time, the layout of the track necessitated cars with better aerodynamics, while this was shared with Grand Prix racing, few tracks in Europe had straights of a length comparable to the Mulsanne. Additionally, because the road is public and thus not as meticulously maintained as permanent racing circuits, racing puts more strain on the parts, increasing the importance of reliability. The oil crisis in the early 1970s led organizers to adopt a fuel economy formula known as Group C that limited the amount of each car was allowed. Although it was abandoned, fuel economy remains important as new fuel sources reduced time spent during pit stops. Such technological innovations have had an effect and can be incorporated into consumer cars. This has also led to faster and more exotic supercars as manufacturers seek to develop road cars in order to develop them into even faster GT cars. Additionally, in recent years hybrid systems have been championed in the LMP category as rules have changed to their benefit. The race is held in June, leading at times to very hot conditions for drivers, particularly in closed vehicles with poor ventilation, the race begins in mid-afternoon and finishes the following day at the same hour the race started the previous day. Over the 24 hours, modern competitors often cover distances well over 5,000 km, the record is 2010s 5,410 km, six times the length of the Indianapolis 500, or approximately 18 times longer than a Formula One Grand Prix. Drivers and racing teams strive for speed and avoiding damage, as well as managing the cars consumables, primarily fuel, tires

22.
6 Hours of Silverstone
–
The 6 Hours of Silverstone is an endurance sports car race held at Silverstone Circuit near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. First run in 1976 as part of the World Sportscar Championship, since 2013, the RAC Tourist Trophy has been awarded to the winners of the event. In 1975, a round of the World Championship of Makes was not held in Britain for one of the first times since 1966, the 1000 km Brands Hatch which had been run almost consecutively during that period went under hiatus while track upgrades were carried out. Following upgrades of its own in 1975, plans were made for sportscars to return to Britain by using Silverstone instead of Brands Hatch, the event was a six-hour endurance, part of the Group 5 World Championship. The first running consisted of a field as some season competitors chose not to compete. British drivers John Fitzpatrick and Tom Walkinshaw managed to upset the teams by scoring the inaugural victory in a BMW. The following year, competition grew as the factory Porsche team, under the guise of Martini Racing, the Porsche factory team was not able to continue their streak into 1979 when their lead car crashed, leaving the privateer Gelo Racing Porsche to a dominant win. 1980 saw the first victory by a sports-prototype, alain de Cadenet managed to win the home event as a driver, team owner, as well as a constructor when he and Desiré Wilson won by 18 seconds in a car of his own design. A Group 5 car took its final victory in 1981 with the all-German Velga Racing Team before the class was phased out. 1982 was the first year of the Group C category in the World Championship, the first Group C victory came in 1983 as Porsche returned to their factory dominance of the event, going on to win the 1984 and 1985 events as well. Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass still hold record of most wins, in 1986 British success returned as the Jaguar factory team was able to upset Porsche for the first time since the company had returned to racing. Jaguar then began to dominate in a similar to Porsche. American Eddie Cheever co-drove in each of the three victories, no race was held in 1989 as Donington temporarily replaced Silverstone on the schedule, but sportscars returned in 1990 for a shorter 480 km event. Jaguar returned to their winning ways straight away before going on to earn a fifth victory in a 430 km event in 1991. Only after Jaguar officially retired from the World Championship was another manufacturer able to again earn victory at Silverstone. A lack of entrants however lead to the cancellation of the World Championship, the race did make a one-year comeback in 2000 as part of the American Le Mans Series. The race served as a precursor to the European Le Mans Series that followed in 2001, in 2004, the new Le Mans Endurance Series was created to resurrect several 1000 km endurance races in a modern era. Among these was Silverstone, running at its original distance, once again, British success started off the return of the event as Allan McNish and the British Audi team won the event

23.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government

24.
Silverstone Circuit
–
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side, the Northamptonshire towns of Towcester and Brackley and Buckinghamshire town of Buckingham are close by, and the nearest large towns are Northampton and Milton Keynes. Silverstone is the current home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created World Championship of Drivers. The race rotated between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch from 1955 to 1986, but relocated permanently to Silverstone in 1987, the circuit also hosts the British round of the MotoGP series. However, the Donington Park leaseholders suffered economic problems resulting in the BRDC signing a 17-year deal with Ecclestone to hold the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Silverstone is built on the site of a World War II Royal Air Force bomber station, RAF Silverstone, the airfields three runways, in classic WWII triangle format, lie within the outline of the present track. Silverstone was first used for motorsport by an ad hoc group of friends who set up a race in September 1947. One of their members, Maurice Geoghegan, lived in nearby Silverstone village and was aware that the airfield was deserted and he and eleven other drivers raced over a two-mile circuit, during the course of which Geoghegan himself ran over a sheep that had wandered onto the airfield. The sheep was killed and the car written off, and in the aftermath of this event the race became known as the Mutton Grand Prix. The next year the Royal Automobile Club took a lease on the airfield and their first two races were held on the runways themselves, with long straights separated by tight hairpin corners, the track demarcated by hay bales. However, for the 1949 International Trophy meeting, it was decided to switch to the perimeter track and this arrangement was used for the 1950 and 1951 Grands Prix. In 1952 the start line was moved from the Farm Straight to the straight linking Woodcote and Copse corners, for the 1975 meeting a chicane was introduced to try to tame speeds through the mighty Woodcote Corner, and Bridge Corner was subtly rerouted in 1987. The track underwent a major redesign between the 1990 and 1991 races, transforming the ultra-fast track into a technical track. The reshaped tracks first F1 race was perhaps the most memorable of recent years, following the deaths of Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modified in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety. As a consequence of this the entry from Hangar Straight into Stowe Corner was modified in 1995 so as to make its entry less dangerous, in addition, the flat-out Abbey kink was modified to a chicane in just 19 days before the 1994 GP. Parts of the circuit, such as the grid, are 17 metres wide. After a new pit building, the Silverstone Wing, was completed in time for the 2011 race, almost flat out, the right-hander of Abbey leads immediately into the left-hander of Farm before cars brake heavily into the second gear, right-handed turn three, Village Corner. Turn 6, the left hander of Brooklands, is taken by drivers in second gear and leads immediately into Luffield, another second gear curve, a right-hand hairpin

25.
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
–
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races followed, as on the Nürburgring, both a 24-hour race for touring cars and GTs is held, and an endurance race for sports cars and GTs. The sports car began in 1953, and in 1963 joined the World Sportscar Championship and was extended to 500 km. Starting in 1966, it was run for 1000 km, following the 1000 km Nürburgring and 1000 km Monza, due to safety problems on the traditional long and very fast 14 km track over public roads, the race was discontinued after 1975. The 1000 km race was resumed in 1982 after the track was made safer by shortening it to 7 km, in 1989 and 1990, the race distance was lowered to 480 km as a rule change required the use of Formula One-derived engines that lasted longer. Due to the decline of the WSC, the 1000km was discontinued after 1990 even before the WSC closed, the race was revived in 1999, as a part of the SportsRacing World Cup, running to a 2-hour,30 minute time limit. In 2003, the 1000 km race was resumed as a joint event of the FIA SCC with the British GT Championship, in 2004, it was part of the Le Mans Series, and in 2011 was also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. From 2012 onwards the race has been part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, jacky Ickx currently holds record of most wins, having won the race 5 times, in 1967,1968,1974,1982, and 1983. He is also one of two drivers to win the 1000 km on both the original and current circuits, the other being Derek Bell. ^1 The 1975 event was scheduled for 1000 km, but was shortened to 750 km the day of the race due to an approaching storm. Bellof died in the hospital afterwards, and officials ended the race at the five-hour mark, ^3 The 2002 event was stopped early due to heavy rain. ^4 The 2010 event was red flagged during the due to electrical outages. The race covered approximately 975 km when it on a six time limit. Le Mans Series -1000 km of Spa 1,000 KM of Spa Francorchamps Racing Sports Cars, Spa archive

26.
Belgium
–
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie

27.
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
–
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, and of the Spa 24 Hours and 1000 km Spa endurance races. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event,25 Hours of Spa and it is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its fast, hilly and twisty nature. Spa is a circuit of many racing drivers and fans. Despite its name, the circuit is not in Spa but lies in the vicinity of the town of Francorchamps within the boundaries of the municipality of Stavelot, with a part in the boundaries of Malmedy. Designed in 1920 by Jules de Thier and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the track was intended to have hosted its inaugural race in August 1921, however this event had to be cancelled as there was only one entrant. The first car race was held at the circuit in 1922, the circuit was first used for Grand Prix racing in 1925. The old Spa circuit was essentially a speed course with drivers managing higher average speeds than on other race tracks, until 2000, it was possible to travel over the race track when it was still a public road. Near Malmedy, the Masta straight began, which was interrupted by the fast Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving at the town of Stavelot. Before 1970, there were no safety modifications of any kind done to the circuit, former Formula One racing driver and team owner Jackie Oliver was quoted as saying if you went off the road, you didnt know what you were going to hit. The old Spa circuit was unique in that speeds were high with hardly any let-up at all for 3–4 minutes. This made it a difficult mental challenge, because most of the corners were taken at 180+ mph and were not quite flat- every corner was as important as the one before it. If a driver lifted just that bit more, then whole seconds. Even the slightest error of any kind was punished very harshly in more ways than one, but this reality also worked inversely- huge advantages could be gained if a driver came out of a corner slightly faster. When Armco crash barriers were added to the track in 1970, deaths became less frequent there but the track was still notorious for other factors. The Ardennes Forest had very unpredictable weather and there were parts where it was raining and the track was wet, and other parts where the sun was shining, in 1969, the Belgian Grand Prix was boycotted by F1 because of the extreme danger of Spa. There had been 10 racing fatalities in total at the track in the 1960s, the drivers demanded changes made to Spa which were not possible on short notice, so the Belgian Grand Prix was dropped that year. Armco was added to the track and sections of it were improved, for the 1971 race, the track owners and authorities had not brought the track up to date with mandatory safety measures, and the race was cancelled. Formula One would not return to Spa until 1983 on the modern track, the Masta Kink was one of the most fearsome sections on any race track in the world, requiring skill and bravery in equal measure to get it right

28.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

29.
Circuit de la Sarthe
–
The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe located in Le Mans, Maine, France, is a semi-permanent race course most famous as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. The track also includes roads that remain open to the public most of the year. The circuit, in its present configuration, is 13.629 kilometres long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world, capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. Le Mans is a race where up to 85% of the time is spent on full throttle, meaning immense stress on engine. Even with the modifications put in place over the years, the Sarthe circuit is known for being very fast. This classic configuration was 8.369 miles long and remained almost unaltered even after the 1955 tragedy and its frighteningly narrow pit straight was narrowed off to make room for the pits and was part of the road itself, without the road becoming wider just for the pits. The pit straight was about 12 feet wide and the race track, the pit area was modified at a cost of 300 million francs, the signalling area was even moved to the exit of the slow Mulsanne corner, and the track was resurfaced. With cars getting ever faster in the 1960s, criticism rose, especially when drivers were killed. Since 1965, a smaller but permanent Bugatti Circuit was added which shares the pit lane facilities, for the 1968 race, the Ford chicane was added before the pits to slow down the cars. The circuit was fitted with Armco for the 1969 race, one of the Porsche Curves was affectionately named Maison Blanche and a short straight with a slight kink and two chicanes before the pits named the Ford chicanes were all added. In 1979, due to the construction of a new public road and this redesign led to a faster double-apex corner as well as requiring the removal of the second Dunlop Bridge. In 1986, because of construction of a new roundabout at the Mulsanne corner and this created a right hand kink prior to Mulsanne corner. In 1987, a chicane was added to the very fast Dunlop curve where cars would go under the Dunlop bridge at 180 mph, the Le Mans circuit was changed between the Dunlop Bridge and Esses, with the straight now becoming a set of fast sweeping turns. This layout allowed for a transition from the Le Mans circuit to the Bugatti circuit. This layout change would require the tracks infamous carnival to be relocated because the area it had once occupied became runoff. As part of the development, a new extended pit lane exit was created for the Bugatti Circuit and this second pit exit re-enters the track just beyond the Dunlop Chicane and before the Dunlop Bridge. Following the fatal crash of Danish driver Allan Simonsen at the 2013 race at the exit of Tertre Rouge into D338, the radius will be moved in approximately 200m for safety reasons with new tyre barriers at the exit. Le Mans was most famous for its 6 km long straight, called Ligne Droite des Hunaudières, a part of the route départementale D338

30.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

31.
Sebring International Raceway
–
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in the United States. Sebring is one of the race tracks in North American sports car racing. Sebring raceway occupies the site of Hendricks Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forces training base for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress pilots in operation from 1941 to 1946, Sebrings first race was held on New Years Eve of 1950, attracting thirty race cars from across North America. The Sam Collier 6 Hour Memorial race was won by Fritz Koster, the first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15,1952, shortly growing into a major international race. In 1959, the hosted the U. S. first Formula One race. However poor attendance and high costs relocated the next U. S, Grand Prix to Riverside International Raceway in Southern California. For much of Sebrings history, the followed a 5.2 miles layout. This was closer to the hairpin and allowed a run through a very fast corner to the top of the track. In 1983 the circuit was changed to allow use of the track. In 1987 more changes allowed use of another runway, in 1997, the hairpin was removed due to a lack of run-off, and replaced with what became known as the safety pin. Gendebien Bend was also re-profiled to slow the entry to the Ullman straight. The track is often recognized for its famous, high-speed Turn 17, the corner can fit up to 3 cars wide. Skip Barber Racing School holds numerous programs at the facility, including a Scholarship opportunity for young racers, Sebring International Raceway consist of three tracks, the Full Circuit, the Short Circuit, and the Club Circuit. The course of the track itself is 3.74 miles long and it is a seventeen-turn road course with long straights, several high-speed corners, and very technical slower corners. Many of the turns and points along the track are named for the early teams, there is very little elevation change around the track and little camber on the surface, providing a challenging track for drivers, especially when it rains. Sebring is renowned for its rough surface, the course still runs on old sections of World War II-era landing fields that were constructed of concrete sections with large seams. The transitions between sections are quite rough and often, sparks fly from the undercarriages of the cars as they traverse them, much of the track has intentionally been left with its original concrete runway surface

32.
6 Hours of Fuji
–
The 6 Hours of Fuji is a sports car race held at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan. The race was held for the first time in 1967 and in 1977 became part of the new Fuji Long Distance Series, in 1982 a second 1000 km race known as WEC in Japan was run as a round of the World Sportscar Championship. The All Japan Sports Prototype Championship was formed in 1983, the World Championship left after 1988, but the JSPC carried on both races until 1992. The race was revived in 1999 as an attempt to gauge interest in an Asian Le Mans Series that never materialized, the race was revived again as a part of the short-lived Japan Le Mans Challenge in 2007. The race returned again as part of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season, NOTE, The 2013 race did not start, all 17 laps were run under the Safety Car. A subsequent rule change was implemented to mandate two green flag laps before a race counted, ^A The 1985 race was stopped after 2 hours due to heavy rain. Most of the international entries withdrew before the race, or in the early laps

33.
Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon

34.
Fuji Speedway
–
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s, in the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and national racing. Originally managed by Mitsubishi Estate Co. Fuji Speedway was acquired by Toyota Motor Corporation in 2000, the circuit hosted the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix in 2007, after an absence of 30 years, replacing the Suzuka Circuit, owned by Honda. After Fuji Speedway hosted the 2008 race, the Japanese Grand Prix returned to Suzuka for the 2009-onward races, Fuji Speedway is known for having one of the longest straights in motorsport tracks, at 1.475 km in length. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license, Fuji Speedway Corporation was established in 1963, as Japan NASCAR Corporation. At first, the circuit was planned to hold NASCAR-style races in Japan, therefore, the track was originally designed to be a 4 km high-banked superspeedway, but there was not enough money to complete the project and thus only one of the bankings was ever designed. Mitsubishi Estate Co. invested in the circuit and took the management right on October 1965, converted to a road course, the circuit opened in December 1965 and proved to be somewhat dangerous with the banked turn regularly resulting in major accidents. Vic Elford recalls, In 1969 I spent two months in Japan doing a test contract for Toyota and their Toyota 7, which along with a big Nissan, was destined for CanAm. My last testing and then the subsequent Sports Car GP were at Fuji, the reason that banking was so horrific, was that at the end of the straight we went over a blind crest at around 190/200 mph and dropped into the banking. At other tracks you climb up the banking, One of the results was that although there were many brave Japanese drivers there were not too many with great skill and the death toll from that one corner was horrendous. In 1966, the track hosted a USAC Indy Car non-championship race, the track had a 24-hour race in 1967. The speedway brought the first Formula One race to Japan at the end of the 1976 season, the race had a dramatic World Championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and in awful rainy conditions, Hunt earned enough points to win the title. Mario Andretti won the race, with Lauda withdrawing due to the dangerous conditions, there was less celebration after the second race in 1977 as Gilles Villeneuve was involved in a crash that killed two spectators on the side of the track, leading to Formula One leaving the speedway. When Japan earned another race on the F1 schedule ten years later, F1 didnt return to Fuji until 2007. Fuji remained a sports car racing venue and FIA World Sportscar Championship visited the track between 1982–1988 and it was often used for national races. Speeds continued to be high, and two chicanes were added to the track, one just past the first hairpin corner, the second at the entry to the very long. But even with changes the main feature of the track remained its approximately 1.5 km long straight. The long pit straight has also utilised for drag racing

35.
China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing

36.
Shanghai International Circuit
–
The Shanghai International Circuit is a motorsport race track, situated in the Jiading, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. The circuit is best known as the venue for the annual Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, the 2008 MotoGP race was the last one on this circuit, as the FIM didnt select the racetrack for the provisional calendar of 2009. This is due to overcrowding problems in the circuit, partly due to location of the circuit, areas around turns 1,8 and 14 have been sinking, and therefore the circuit had to be inspected before the 2011 event took place. The Chinese Grand Prix attracted 260,000 spectators in its year in 2004 with a slight 10,000 increase in 2005. On Feb 18,2011, Reuters reported words from the Chinese Grand Prix organizers said Shanghai has extended the deal to host the Chinese Grand Prix to 2018 despite falling attendance. Reuters reported words from Yiping Chen, deputy director of the Shanghai Sports Bureau, Reuters reported prices for prime seats range would decrease from 3, 580-3,980 yuan in 2010 to 1, 980-3,280 yuan in 2011. On the same day, AFP reported that the Shanghai City government will keep open a line to the race track to boost spectator numbers from April 15–17,2011. In common with other new Formula One circuits, it was designed by Hermann Tilke, and also features his trademark track feature. Current-generation F1 cars can easily surpass 300 km/h on the straight between corners 13 and 14. The track layout was inspired from the Chinese character shang the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, the whole circuit plus seating areas and other areas for spectators, covers a total area of 5.3 km². Turns 1 and 2 make up a very long right-hand curve which leads immediately into turns 3 and 4, One and two are far more difficult - a lift on entry followed by various taps of the throttle and brakes are needed so the car maintains balance throughout. It also becomes blind towards the middle of the corner, three and four are nowhere near as difficult but a good exit is needed to gain speed down the following straight and through turn 5. The complex of turns 1-4 makes up the first of two snails on the circuit, the other being turns 11-13, turn 6 is a second gear, right-handed hairpin with plentiful run-off. Turns 7 and 8 make up a high speed chicane - the left-right complex sees a constant G-force of 3, turns 9 and 10 immediately follow - two slow left-handers which require a good exit to gain speed down the next straight. Turns 11 and 12 effectively make up a slow left-right chicane where the use of kerbs are important, turn 13 is a very long right-hander which becomes less and less tight, and a very good exit is important as the longest straight currently in Formula One follows. The total length of the circuit is 5.451 km, the lap record was set by Ferraris Michael Schumacher in 2004. He completed one lap of the circuit in 1,32.238

37.
Brazil
–
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama

World Sportscar Championship
–
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The official name of the series changed throughout the years, however it has generally been known as the World Sportscar Championship from its inception in 1953. The World Sportscar Championship was, with the Formula One World Championship,

1.
Ferrari 330 P4 at "1000 km di Monza", 1967

2.
A works Rothmans Porsche 956 at Silverstone

World Enduro Championship
–
The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes, along with separate categories for junior and female riders, the WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists of 16 races based on eight two-day events. All rounds

Le Mans Prototype
–
Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de lOuest. The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car, while not as fast as open-wheel Formula One cars, LMPs are the fastest closed-wheel racing cars used in circuit racing. Le Mans Prototypes are considered a class above production-based

1.
A group of Le Mans Prototypes competing in the American Le Mans Series

2.
Audi R10 TDI in the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring

3.
An early Riley & Scott Mk III, which competed in IMSA's WSC class.

4.
A Bentley Speed 8 as used in 2003

Grand tourer
–
A grand tourer is a performance and luxury automobile capable of high speed and long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement, the grand touring concept is eurocentric, the definition implies material differences in performance at speed, comfort, and amenities between elite automobiles

1.
Porsche 911, a GT model built since 1964 (showing model 991, the 7th generation of the 911)

2.
A classic Gran Turismo, the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

3.
1953 Bentley Continental grand tourer

4.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Michelin
–
Michelin is a French tire manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the four largest tire manufacturers in the world along with Goodyear, Continental, in addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Tigar, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tire brands. Michelins numerous inventions incl

3.
" French Indochina – The French community of about 40,000 lived in the European quarters, – for the mass of the population the reality was forced labour – working to produce the colony's exports of rice, tin, tea, and above all – rubber – the source of the fortune of the Michelin company."

4.
Michelin is the official tire supplier of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars used in the Porsche Carrera Cup and the Porsche Supercup.

Dunlop Tyres
–
Dunlop is a brand of tyres owned by various companies around the world. It is owned and operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in North America, Europe, Australia, in India the brand is owned by Dunlop India Ltd. whose parent company is the Ruia Group. In Asia, Africa and Latin America by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, in 1985, Dunlop Rubber Com

1.
Sport Tyres

2.
Dunlop

Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular

1.
The Nebra sky disk is dated to c. 1600 BC.

2.
Flag

3.
Martin Luther (1483–1546) initiated the Protestant Reformation.

4.
Foundation of the German Empire in Versailles, 1871. Bismarck is at the center in a white uniform.

Timo Bernhard
–
Timo Bernhard is a professional sports car racer from Germany. He was former Team Penske driver and currently a Porsche factory driver and he has also raced for the CytoSport in the 2010 American Le Mans Series season and is a winner of the Triple Crown in endurance racing. Bernhard was born in Homburg, Saarland and he debuted in karting in 1991. H

1.
Timo Bernhard

2.
Bernhard driving an Audi R15 TDI at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

New Zealand
–
New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000

1.
The Waitangi sheet from the Treaty of Waitangi

2.
Flag

3.
Painting of Mount Earnslaw by John Turnbull Thomson, oil on canvas, 1888

4.
John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2008

Earl Bamber
–
He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup and double Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion, and won the 201524 Hours of Le Mans with Nico Hülkenberg and Nick Tandy. Earl Bamber was born in Whanganui, New Zealand, to Paul and Maureen Bamber and he attended Wanganui Collegiate School along with his younger brother, William. Bamber began in kart racing and won his

1.
Bamber (centre) on the podium following the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

Brendon Hartley
–
Brendon Hartley is a New Zealand professional racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in LMP1-H. On November 21,2015, he was crowned alongside his teammates Mark Webber. Hartley was born in Palmerston North in a well integrated within motorsport. His father, Bryan, had raced in many forms of motorsport,

1.
Brendon Hartley at the Silverstone Round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship

2.
Hartley won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship in 2007.

3.
Hartley driving for Carlin Motorsport at the Croft round of the 2008 British Formula 3 season.

4.
Hartley driving for Tech 1 Racing at the Silverstone round of the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.

Porsche in motorsport
–
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races. The Porsche 917 of 1969 turned them into a house, winning in 1970 the first of over a dozen 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the 911 Carrera RS and the Porsche 935 Turbo, Porsche dominated the 1970s, and even has beaten sports prototypes, Porsche is

Rebellion Racing
–
Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season, the team started as an association between Speedy Racing and Sebah Racing, which began in 2008. Rebellion Racings team principal is Alexandre Pes

1.
Rebellion Racing's two cars at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans.

2.
Rebellion Racing's Lola B10/60 Toyota engined race car.

3.
Rebellion Racing's driver Andrea Belicchi.

Ferrari
–
Ferrari N. V. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 as Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company built its first car in 1940, however the companys inception as an auto manufacturer is usually recognized in 1947, when the first Ferrari-badged car was completed. Ferrari is the worlds most powerful accordin

1.
166MM Barchetta 212/225

2.
Ferrari 312T2 Formula One car driven by Niki Lauda

3.
Scuderia Ferrari won a Formula One driver's title in 2007, with Kimi Räikkönen.

4.
A 312PB (driven by Jacky Ickx) during the team's final year in the World Sportscar Championship.

AF Corse
–
AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. The team has also entered cars under Advanced Engineering, AT Racing, Pecom Racing, Spirit of Race and 8Star Motorsports, in 1995, Amato Ferrari retired from driving and chose to concentrate on team management, initially entering the Italian S

Aston Martin Racing
–
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9. Since the DBR9s racing debut in 2005, Aston Martin Racing has expanded to build

4.
An Aston Martin -powered Lola B08/60 run by Charouz Racing System and backed by Aston Martin Racing

Porsche
–
F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche AG, is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans. Porsche AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, and is owned by Volkswagen AG, Porsches current lineup includes the 718 Boxster/Cayman,911, Panamera, Macan and Cayenne. Ferdinand Porsche founded the company ca

1.
Panzerjäger Elefant, after the loss of the contract to the Tiger I Porsche recycled his design into a tank destroyer.

2.
1952 Porsche 356 K/9-1 Prototype

3.
The Porsche 912, from the 1960s

4.
The second-generation Porsche 911 (964), introduced in 1989, was the first to be offered with Porsche's Tiptronic transmission and four-wheel drive.

Auto racing
–
Auto racing is a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Almost as soon as automobiles had been invented, races of various sorts were organised, by the 1930s specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and it was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton. Internal c

1.
Jimmie Johnson leads the field racing three-wide multiple rows back at Daytona International Speedway in the 2015 Daytona 500.

2.
Albert Lemaître classified first in his Peugeot Type 5 3hp in the Paris–Rouen.

3.
Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903

4.
A remaining section of the Brooklands track in 2007

Endurance racing (motorsport)
–
Endurance racing is a form of motorsport racing which is meant to test the durability of equipment and endurance of participants. Teams of multiple drivers attempt to cover a distance in a single event. Endurance races can be run either to cover a set distance in laps as quickly as possible, one of the more common lengths of endurance races has bee

1.
Rolling start of the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours

2.
The inaugural Willhire 24 Hour, Snetterton, 1980

3.
Driving under safety car in 2007 Mil Milhas Brasil

Sports prototype
–
A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are not intended for purchase or production beyond that required to compete. Prototype racing cars have compe

1.
The Jaguar XJR-8, Group C, produced over 700 horsepower.

2.
The Audi R10 is one of the most successful Le Mans Prototypes in recent years, winning 36 out of 48 races, and 4 Constructors' Championships.

24 Hours of Le Mans
–
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the worlds oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. It is one of the most prestigious races in the world and is often called the Grand Prix of Endurance. The event represents one leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, other events being the Indianapolis

1.
The pits at dawn

2.
24 Hours of Le Mans

3.
A BMW M3 GT2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

4.
Rolling start of the 2008 race

6 Hours of Silverstone
–
The 6 Hours of Silverstone is an endurance sports car race held at Silverstone Circuit near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. First run in 1976 as part of the World Sportscar Championship, since 2013, the RAC Tourist Trophy has been awarded to the winners of the event. In 1975, a round of the World Championship of Makes

1.
6 Hours of Silverstone

United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border wi

1.
Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.

2.
Flag

3.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.

4.
The Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.

Silverstone Circuit
–
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side, the Northamptonshire towns of Towcester and Brackley and Buckinghamshire town of Buckin

1.
Piers Courage on his way to 5th place in the 1969 British Grand Prix, aboard Frank Williams Racing Cars ’s Brabham-Cosworth BT26A

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
–
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races followed, as on the Nürburgring, both a 24-hour race for touring cars and GTs is held, and an endurance race for sports cars and GTs. The sports car began in 1953, and i

1.
The 14km Spa used by sportscars up until 1975

2.
1000 Kilometres de Spa-Francorchamps

Belgium
–
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers w

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
–
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, and of the Spa 24 Hours and 1000 km Spa endurance races. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event,25 Hours of Spa and it is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its fast, hilly and twisty nature. Spa is a

1.
The original 15 km track layout

2.
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Formula One Layout

3.
The quicker 14 km track layout

4.
Eau Rouge & Raidillon in 1997

France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territ

1.
One of the Lascaux paintings: a horse – Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC

2.
Flag

3.
The Maison Carrée was a temple of the Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the Roman Empire.

4.
With Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the Frankish monarchy, elective and secular until then, became hereditary and of divine right.

Circuit de la Sarthe
–
The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe located in Le Mans, Maine, France, is a semi-permanent race course most famous as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. The track also includes roads that remain open to the public most of the year. The circuit, in its present configuration, is 13.629 kilometres long,

1.
The chicane at the Dunlop Bridge.

2.
Part of the Mulsanne Straight.

3.
An on site map of the circuit.

United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean,

1.
Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764

2.
Flag

3.
The signing of the Mayflower Compact, 1620.

4.
The Declaration of Independence: the Committee of Five presenting their draft to the Second Continental Congress in 1776

Sebring International Raceway
–
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in the United States. Sebring is one of the race tracks in North American sports car racing. Sebring raceway occupies the site of Hendricks Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forc

1.
Press box

6 Hours of Fuji
–
The 6 Hours of Fuji is a sports car race held at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan. The race was held for the first time in 1967 and in 1977 became part of the new Fuji Long Distance Series, in 1982 a second 1000 km race known as WEC in Japan was run as a round of the World Sportscar Championship. The All Japan Sports Prototype Championship w

1.
Fuji 1000 Kilometers

Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referr

1.
The Golden Hall and five-storey pagoda of Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world, National Treasures, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

3.
Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the Mongol invasions of Japan. The Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.

4.
Samurai could kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population. Edo period, 1798

Fuji Speedway
–
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s, in the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and national racing. Originally managed by Mitsubishi Estate Co. Fuji Speedway was acquired by Toyota M

China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin

1.
Yinxu, ruins of an ancient palace dating from the Shang Dynasty (14th century BCE)

2.
Flag

3.
Some of the thousands of life-size Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, c. 210 BCE

4.
The Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the sedentary agricultural regions of the Chinese interior from incursions by nomadic pastoralists of the northern steppes.

Shanghai International Circuit
–
The Shanghai International Circuit is a motorsport race track, situated in the Jiading, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. The circuit is best known as the venue for the annual Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, the 2008 MotoGP race was the last one on this circuit, as the FIM didnt select the racetrack for the provisional calendar of 2009. This is du

1.
Exterior of main grandstand

2.
Shanghai International Circuit

3.
View from the main grandstand

4.
Grandstand H & K

Brazil
–
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological syst

1.
Megaliths in the Solstice Archaeological Park, in Amapá, erected between 500 and 2000 years ago, probably to carry out astronomical observations.

2.
Flag

3.
Representation of the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in Porto Seguro, 1500.

4.
Painting showing the arrest of Tiradentes; he was sentenced to death for his involvement in the best known movement for independence in Colonial Brazil.